(AllHipHop News) Public Enemy’s Chuck D. has filed a class action lawsuit against Universal music group.
Chuck D. filed the lawsuit in the US District Court in Northern California, yesterday (November 2).
The lawsuit claims that UMG has failed to provide a proper accounting for digital royalties, which Chuck D. claims is a “substantial amount of money.”
Chuck D. claims that UMG has failed to properly compensate him for the sales of digital downloads, as well as master ringtones.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal actions filed against UMG group and other labels, since a groundbreaking ruling regarding digital royalty payments in September.
In that ruling, UMG lost a decision to FBT productions, which produced many of Eminem’s early recordings.
That ruling stated that FBT was entitled to a 50% royalty rate for a “Master License,” as opposed to their contractual rate, which called for 18% of every record sold.
The ruling was groundbreaking, because it was among the first decisions to address how royalty rates should be computed on emerging digital formats, versus traditional methods.
Other artists that have filed lawsuits since the ruling include Rob zombie and the estate of Rick James.